Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram has criticized the Punjab government, accusing it of pursuing policies detrimental to farmers.
At a press conference in Peshawar along with Provincial Finance Advisor Muzammil Aslam on Friday, Akram attacked the ruling government for its economic mismanagement, Express News reported.
He alleged that the Punjab government has been misleading the public with false claims. He specifically referred to comments made by Maryam Nawaz, who stated that the country’s economy was heading in the right direction.
“Maryam Nawaz says the economy is on the right track, but if we compare the economic performance of Punjab under her government, during our tenure, poverty was 12%, while now it is 13%,” he said.
He further criticized the economic performance of the government and pointed out that exports under PTI’s rule reached 31 billion, while in 2024, exports were projected to only be 26 billion. “In 2022, the poverty rate was 35%, but under his government it has increased to 44%,” he added.
Akram also pointed to the rise in interest rates, which he said had contributed to the widening fiscal deficit, with the government facing losses exceeding Rs 408 billion. “Under his leadership, institutions like PIA are in the red,” he observed.
He accused the Punjab government of failing to improve essential public services such as healthcare, and claimed that Maryam Nawaz had personally named health units after her, and that colleges and universities were also linked to her family.
“In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sehat card provides cover for 103 diseases, but now Maryam Nawaz has introduced separate cards for each disease,” Akram said.
In terms of agricultural policies, Akram accused the Punjab government of being “anti-farmer”, citing how the opposition had mocked the PTI’s poultry program when it was introduced. “Now they themselves are becoming a joke,” he said, criticizing the government’s management of agricultural initiatives.
Additionally, he referred to the government’s recent statement on job cuts. “Your Finance Minister said they were going to cut 150,000 jobs, but those jobs were already vacant,” he said, accusing the government of misleading the public by falsely claiming they were reducing the burden on the economy.
Muzammil Aslam also took aim at the opposition, stating that while previous changes in Pakistan’s economy once started in Lahore, they now begin in Peshawar.
He compared the PTI-led government’s financial management in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with the Punjab government’s handling of the economy, stating that while the former had made progress, the latter had left the country mired in debt.
Aslam further criticized the rising costs of essential goods, particularly food, noting that the forced reduction in wheat prices would likely have long-term negative consequences for the economy.
He noted the alarming number of Pakistanis leaving the country and claimed that 1.8 million people had been forced to emigrate.
